It’s hard to recall a fandom changing its tune so quickly on such a massively popular property, but The Witcher was always setting itself up for a fail when it was shockingly announced that not only would Henry Cavill be stepping away as Geralt of Rivia following this summer’s third season, but Liam Hemsworth would be replacing him in the lead role.
Needless to say, audiences were close to launching an all-out war when the news first broke, which is understandable when the former Superman was ideally cast as the charismatically gruff monster hunter, whereas Hemsworth hasn’t really shown much indication that he’s going to be a capable replacement.
The smartest move would arguably be to simply end The Witcher after its next run of episodes, especially when Blood Origin was widely-panned and ranks as one of Netflix’s worst-reviewed original shows of all-time, but showrunner Lauren Hissrich has become probably the first person to voice genuine excitement over Hemsworth’s impending arrival in an interview with Total Film.
“We’re all excited about Liam coming in. He’s got enormous shoes to fill, but also has a lot of energy and a lot of excitement for it. It’s obviously a brand-new chapter for us. And there’s a lot of feelings involved. But at the end of the day, we love what we’re doing. So we’re gonna keep going.”
If the campaigns being mounted to ensure viewers concertedly avoid watching The Witcher to whittle away its viewing figures, Hissrich may not end up getting her wish. After all, it’s not as if Netflix is above axing a fantasy series that fails to perform, no matter how big it is.